


I Love You Eren Yeager!

by J93



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, One Shot, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-14
Updated: 2018-02-14
Packaged: 2019-03-18 16:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13685718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/J93/pseuds/J93
Summary: Just Armin sneaking around, hoping no one will see him put a Valentine’s Day letter in Eren' locker.





	I Love You Eren Yeager!

The crowded corridor did nothing to calm Armin’s nerves. He managed to slide through and reach his locker. As he swapped his books, the mirror within the locker showed his friends hold hands, laugh at their unfunny jokes and share their lips with one another.

It made him sick.

Today was the day. The day Armin was finally going to tell Eren, his best friend since childhood, the truth. Now he just needed to-

Two dull pupils appeared in the mirror.

“ _AH!_ ” Armin spun around and glared at her. “Damn it Mikasa don't scare me like that!” he scolded and slammed his locker shut.

“You look very anxious. I was wondering-”.

“I'm fine! I don’t know what you're talking about I’m fine. Chipper! What about you? Is Jean taking you out for a date later?”

Mikasa played along. “Yeah, he asked me yesterday.”

“Cool cool. Y-you, good luck! I mean, don't worry! _Tch._ Have fun! Have a great time. See ya bye!”

Armin ran away before Mikasa could wish him good luck too.

-

Save for a few bodies in the treadmill room the gymnasium was relatively inactive. After trekking around the desk to where the gym lockers were, locker number 5 came into his sights. Armin ran over to it and started punching the numbers for the lock. His hands trembled and he was sweating buckets. He was panting and wanting nothing more than to be as far away from here ASAP. An audible click occurred. He hurriedly swung it open and as he was about to place the heart-shaped envelope inside, scuffling feet came to a halt from behind him.

“Armin?”

The blond froze. _He shouldn’t be here!_ Armin turned his head slowly to find the boy in question stare at him quizzically with his gym backpack over his shoulder and his teal eyes immediately lowering down to the pink item held in Armin' sweaty palms.

“What are you doing here?” Armin shakily asked as his back pressed against the lockers. “I-I thought you had soccer practice!”

“Yeah, but we had to cancel cos Reiner broke his leg and… is that a card for me?” Eren’s eyes widening in surprise. Armin held the card tight.

“Who's it from?” he had to ask. Armin bit his lip.

He had tried, over and over again, everything he had in his arsenal. Hints of his type a guy, birthday presents and even to the extreme of having just the two of them alone on a Saturday night at his Grandfather’s and falling asleep on Eren’ shoulder as they watch a late night movie together. But, alas, Eren was either really oblivious or too kind.

_Isn’t it obvious? He thinks it's from someone else, of course, he does - he's straight! He's thinking it's maybe Annie or Krista, hell maybe even Mikasa! Not me. Never me._

Armin sunk his head to hide his beetroot cheeks as Eren moved forward with eagerness.

“Hey, Armin let me see it.”

“N-no…”

Eren pulled the card from his best friend’s hands without much resistance. He removed the card from its pink envelope and opened it up. Out of habit, Armin read Eren' eyes read from left to right.

_Dear Eren,_

_I don't know how to say this, but I have to._  
_When I first met you, I fell in love with you._  
_You showed me kindness like no other friend._  
_You gave me hope and life when I really needed it._

 _When I came out, I was sad for a long time._  
_I just knew you would never feel the same way._  
_It hurt me every single time I looked at you._  
**_EVERY. SINGLE. DAMN. TIME._ **

_So I need to tell you this now before I go insane._

**_I LOVE YOU EREN YEAGER!_ **

_I’ve been in love with you now for so long._  
_It was only a matter of time before I let this out._  
_Can we still be friends after this? I don't know._

_Love from your best friend and longtime secret admirer,_

_Armin Arlert_

_P.S. Mikasa knows about me and this letter._  
_Don't be mad with her. PLEASE DON'T BE MAD!_

Eren looked to his revealed admirer.

“A-Armin…” his voice broke with such shock it broke Armin’s heart to see him this way.

He knew long before today that nothing would ever be the same once the cat was out of the bag. Seeing him like this confirmed it. Despite being the only two there he felt onlookers digging into his back, watching and judging him from afar. His nerves were causing his face to burn up and his stomach to turn inside out. He felt sick and humiliation. Not love.

There was only one thing to do. He had to end this - get away.

He ran past him, out the door and ignoring Eren’ desperate cries. He couldn’t breathe or think straight. He just kept running and never stopped. He couldn't. He didn't want to stop until he was as far away from the school and Eren as possible.

-

Armin pushed the front door open and bolted straight upstairs to his bedroom, throwing himself onto his bed. His senior guardian gently rose himself from his chair and took his time up the stairs. In his grandson’s room, he found him laying sideways on his bed with his back to the door.

“What is it, Armin?” He asked with great concern. “Should you be in school?”

“I felt sick,” Armin replied a millisecond later, sill not facing him.

Armin grabbed hold of his bed covers and hastily pulled it over him. Despite knowing the signs, the senior man nonetheless walked over, straightened out the covers and tucked Armin in gently just like he had always done.

“Do you need anything?”

“No thanks.” Armin muffled under the cover, keeping his face out of his grandfather’s sight who placed a hand on Armin' shoulder, feeling how tensed up he was.

“If you change your mind I'll be downstairs.”

Armin nodded and his Grandfather stroked and patted his hair. He silently closed the bedroom door behind him.

Armin felt himself clench up inside. He was telling half-truths and was sure his Grandfather would not accept a day off school from being sick with embarrassment and regret. Just thinking about it made him cringe.

 _I had it all planned out._ He curled up into a ball, his arms over his head and his forehead pressed into his kneecaps. _What have I done? Why could I not let things be?! He probably thinks we were just friends so that I could be with him. Stupid!_

Footsteps came up the stairs then to his bedroom door, which slowly opened. Armin leaned over and found the last person on Earth he wanted inside his bedroom.

“Hey,” Eren whispered looking awkward and guilty. “Your Grandfather let me in. He said you were sick.”

Armin lay there in bed unable to find the appropriate response as Eren closed the door behind himself and stood in the same spot. His face sent signals that Armin was familiar with. Whenever he was upset Eren would be right next to him in a shot and comfort him. This time, however, he was so conflicted on what to do or say. It hurt him and Eren knew it.

“Armin, I'm sorry.” Eren took his first step nearer to the bed and Armin recoiled.

“Go away.”

“Armin we need to talk.”

“I said _GO. AWAY._ ” Armin' voice wavered as he smothered his face into his pillow.

“I can’t!” He pulled the card out from his school bag. “Not after this!” Armin pulled his covers up, shielding himself from Eren. “Armin,” Eren continued to whisper “ _please_ talk to me.”

Armin wanted to scream. Instead, he squirmed one last time in the pillow before finally unveiling his face to Eren whose teal orbs he could never say no to. He sat up and rested against the headboard and straightened out his bed covers. His fingers tapped along his chest as though he was having deep thoughts.

“I-I don't know what to say.” He admitted.

Eren knelt at his bedside. “Say what you’ve always wanted to say to me and don’t hold back.”

Armin bit his bottom lip and gulped. “Okay. It's a long story, so you better make yourself comfortable. I’ll start at the beginning.”

-

An hour had passed and Armin had come to the end of his tale. Eren silently soaked it all in, a first for him. He remained still when Armin leaned the back of his head against the headboard. Revealing the whole secret left him exhausted.

Eren finally spoke. “Wow, that was… quite the story, Armin.”

“Yes, it is,” Armin replied, his voice a little horse.

Eren got to his feet and stretched. Armin pretended he didn’t watch his shirt lift and reveal the growing pecks he had been working on. He looked away quickly after Eren’ phone came to life.

“Mikasa,” Eren huffed. “Better give her a call before she goes ape shit.”

“She knows where you are.”

Eren nodded slowly before chuckling. “Still, don’t want to keep her and Jean waiting. BRB.” He shut the door behind himself.

Armin raised from his bed and opened up his wardrobe. He undressed, replacing his creased school clothes with a hood and jeans. He sat back down with a small plop and Eren came back in.

“Everything cool?”

“Yeah. And she knows like you.”

It was something about the last part of what he said that made Armin tear up and cry. He did not know what it was but it took his last gasp away.

He doubled over, holding his stomach. Eren immediately took hold of his shoulders.

“Armin? What is it? _What’s wrong?!_ ”

“I wish I never said anything. I wish I never told you. I want to take it all back!”

“Don’t think like that!” Eren shook him. “Never! Right now it may seem like you’ve made a huge mistake but soon I guarantee you’ll think otherwise.”

“B-but I’ve ruined everything. I’ve ruined our friendship.”

“No, it's great. You were being assertive. That’s good, especially for you.”

“Look where it got me,” Armin replied quietly, albeit with fewer tears.

“Armin, you're a smart guy but sometimes you over think things too much.”

Eren pulled his friend in for a tight warm hug. Armin slowly returned it. Eren could feel the dampness in his school shirt from where he nurtured Armin' head. Gently, Eren pulled him back to asses the damage. He looked at his distraught friend with his bloodshot blue eyes and the trembling lip.

Something within him made Eren want to lean toward Armin’s face, and for whatever reason Eren gave in. Armin’s breath hitched as they continued to close in toward each other.

Armin did not resist - he couldn’t. Instead, he aligned his head and closed his eyes too. They both jolted in ecstasy with the collision of their lips and Armin melted, kissing back.

Eren began kissing back harder and more loosely. It awoke Armin’s common sense from its dormancy.

He pulled back. “Eren!” He cried out of breath. “What did you do that for?”

“I don't know but I liked it.”

Armin’s eyes went wide and he put a hand over his mouth to prevent his gasp from being as loud as it sounded.

“Y-you liked it?”

“Yeah! It felt good kissing you!”

Armin went red as a tomato with Eren’ unexpected joy. “Not so loud.” He wondered what his grandfather downstairs would make from hearing all this.

“Sorry,” Eren apologized quietly. “But it's true.”

“How could you say that? I thought you were straight.”

“I don't know now thanks to you.”

“Well excuse me - I didn't make the first move.”

“I don't know what came over me. I just saw you upset and then… it just happened.”

“…”

“Hey, I never said I regretted it.”

“Well do you?”

“No… Armin?”

“Yeah?”

Armin watched his friend grab hold his hand. His stare was so intense Armin wanted to look away.

“Listen,” Armin saw Eren physically gulp. “I don’t know what's going on with me right now but today, Armin Arlert, I'll be your valentine.”

Armin could not believe it. Eren simply nodded with a smile, making Armin giddy. He had fantasized this for many years but for it to actually happen he had no words. Quickly, he kissed Eren again. _No, not a dream._ He sighed happily.

“I better get going.” Eren dropped his hands and looked at his wristwatch. “Will you be ready in 30 minutes?”

“For what?” Armin asked, still in a daze.

“Our date what else?”

“Oh, right.” Armin’s cheeks became dusty pink. He bit his lip and looked down. “Of course. Yes, I-I’ll be ready for you.”

Eren picked up his school bag and the heart-shaped pink envelope with the card inside fell out and onto the floor. Both boys looked at it. Eren knelt, swiped it up and looked to Armin. He kissed him on the cheek and winked.

“I’ll take this with me.”

He left swiftly and Armin fell back unto his bed, hot all over and not sure how to process anything of what just happened. His Grandfather came by and leaned in to check on him.

“Feeling better, Armin?” he asked with hints of amusement.

His thoughts sky-high, Armin could only handle his replay with one word; “Much.”

“Good to hear.” His grandfather said. “Ring me if you need a ride home and don’t come back late. Nine at the latest. But above all, have a nice time with Eren.”

Armin propped himself up with his shoulders. “I will.” He said confidently with a smile.

His grandfather returned the gesture. “I know you will.” He closed the bedroom door, allowing Armin to prepare himself for his Valentine’s arrival.


End file.
